Latest news with #SirPeterMathieson
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Edinburgh University staff on first of six strikes
University of Edinburgh staff have gone on strike in a dispute over proposed £140m budget one-day walkout is to be followed by five further days of strikes at the start of the new academic year in University and Colleges Union (UCU) said the strike was happening because the university's principal, Sir Peter Mathieson, had refused to rule out making compulsory this month, Sir Peter told Holyrood's education committee the cuts, which include a £90m reduction in the wage bill, were "in the best interests of the university". About 350 staff have accepted voluntary redundancy but unions fear compulsory redundancies will UCU members previously voted 84% in favour of industrial action. Strike dates are also set for 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 September. This coincides with the university's "welcome week" when students arrive for the new academic year.
BBC News
04-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Edinburgh University staff announce six days of strike action
Staff at the University of Edinburgh are to take strike action on 20 June in a dispute over proposed £140m budget one-day walkout will then be followed by five further days of strikes at the start of the new academic year in University and Colleges Union (UCU) said the strike was happening because the university's principal, Sir Peter Mathieson, has refused to rule out making compulsory Sir Peter told Holyrood's education committee the cuts, which include a £90m reduction in the wage bill, are "in the best interests of the university". About 350 staff have already accepted voluntary redundancy but the university has refused to rule out compulsory job argue the cuts, believed to be the largest ever in the history of Scottish higher education, are unnecessary given the extent of the university's cash reserves and assets in Edinburgh. The UCU members previously voted 84% in favour of industrial action. What are the dates of the Edinburgh University strike? As well as the day of industrial action on 20 June, which coincides with a university open day, staff will also take part in action short of will include working to contracted hours, not covering for absent colleagues, not undertaking voluntary activities and a boycott of administrative work related to implementing the UCU has stopped short of a marking and assessment boycott of students' work for dates are also set for 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 September. This coincides with the university's 'welcome week' when students arrive for the new academic Woodman, UCU branch president at the university, said: "Staff want a sustainable future for the university as much as anybody and we want to work with senior management to end this dispute. "But we're clear that the use of compulsory redundancies is unacceptable. With the resources and reserves held by the university it can easily afford to rule out sacking staff. " 'Taking pre-emptive action' Quizzed about the cuts at Holyrood's education committee, Sir Peter said he hoped future job losses could be made on a voluntary basis but could not rule out compulsory redundancies."We have not done so because we genuinely don't know if they are going to be necessary and it would be dishonest to pretend that we do know," he said."We're taking pre-emptive action to try and make sure the university remains in a sustainable position, we're not waiting to be in deficit before we do it."I'm confident the action we're taking now is in the best interests of the university."Sir Peter was also quizzed about his £350,000 salary and job-related perks. Last month the university's most senior academic body passed a vote of no confidence in its leadership over the financial position.
